Programmable free-flight toy aircraft

ABSTRACT

A free-flying toy aircraft is disclosed which is powered by a rechargeable, battery-driven electric motor, the motor driving both the toy&#39;&#39;s propeller and an escapement that rotates a desired one of several cams having different cam surfaces. The cam moves a follower connected to the toy&#39;&#39;s flight control surfaces whereby a predetermined course of flight of the toy aircraft may be selected by the choice of a particular cam. The cam drive mechanism continually rotates during operation of the toy&#39;&#39;s electric motor, and the cam may provide a predetermined time delay after launch before the toy&#39;&#39;s control surfaces are moved in accordance with the programmed flight path.

United States Patent 1191 Chang et al.

1451 Apr. 16, 1974 PROGRAMMABLE FREE-FLIGHT TOY AIRCRAFT Inventors:Richard S. Chang, Rolling Hills Estates; Denis V. Bosley, Palos VerdesPeninsula; Manfred Roessler, Manhattan Beach, all of Calif.

Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif.

Filed: Nov. 6, 1972 Appl. No.: 303,733

[52] [1.8. CI. 46/243 AV, 46/78, 46/244 [51] Int. Cl A63h 33/26 [58]Field Of Search 46/74, 76, 78, 244D, 243 AV 56] References Cited IUNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,122,346 6/1938 Horn 46/78 2,457,281 12/1948Shannon 3,355,838 12/1967 Huffman 3,717,952 2/1973 Strongin 46/244 D3,699,708 10/1972 Mabuchi 46/243 AV Attorney, Agent, or FirmFranklin D.Jankosky; Max

E. Shirk [57] ABSI'RACT A free-flying toy aircraft is disclosed which ispowered by a rechargeable, battery-driven electric motor, the motordriving both the toys'propeller and an escapement that rotates a desiredone of several cams having difi'erent cam surfaces. The cam moves afollower connected to the toys flight control surfaces whereby apredetermined course of flight of the toy aircraft may be selected bythe choice of a particular cam. The cam drive mechanism continuallyrotates during operation of the toys electric motor, and the cam mayprovide a predetermined time delay after launch before the toys controlsurfaces are moved in accordance with the programmed flight path.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEUAPR 16 1974 $803 758 SHEEI 3 0F 3PROGRAMMABLE FREE-FLIGHT TOY AIRCRAFT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention pertains generally to thefield of toy aircraft and the like, and more particularly to flyable toyaircraft in which the toys propeller is driven by a self-containedelectric motor.

2. Description of the Prior Art Toy vehicles having self-containedelectric motors for driving the wheels of the toy are well known. Inmost instances the batteries used for driving these motors were of thedry cell type which must be replaced, usually after relatively shortperiods of use. The electric motors used were generally large, heavy andinefficient, which readily led to battery exhaustion. The weight ofthese batteries and the motor precluded practical use of this type ofmotivation power to flying toy aircraft applications and, instead, smallreciprocating engines have been utilized as the basic source of powerfor this type of craft.

The numerous disadvantages of such liquid fuel powered power plants arewell known, and in order to overcome the problems listed above, therehas recently been developed relatively smaller, lighter and moreefflcient electric motors and rechargeable batteries to produce apowerful self-contained flying toy air-craft propulsion power package.

There has also been a keen interest over the years'to develop wheeledand flying toy vehicles having programmable paths of travel. Severaldesigns have been constructed that provide programmed controls forselecting the toys course of travel. However, these systems generallyonly provide a single programmed course and a separate motor is used tooperate the programming and control mechanisms.

Many of these-developments also have their other disadvantages, such ashaving only a limited number of control surface portions which arearbitrarily switched from one to another. This scheme may cause the toyto change attitude so quickly that the craft follows anerratic coursewhich is not pleasant to observe. Further, these prior art programmingtechniques often commence maneuvers immediately upon launch and maycause the toy to crash into the ground or into a nearby object becauseof the near proximity of the toy at that point of time to such problemareas. It should therefore be evident that a powerful, lightweight andselfcontained, electric, motor-powered programmable free-flight type toyaircraft that does not require a separate power plant to operate thetoys programming and control surface mechanism and which allows for theselection of any one of a plurality of pre-determined flight maneuverswhich do not commence until the craft is at a safe altitude for suchmaneuvers, would constitute a significant advancement of the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing factors andconditions, characteristic of the prior art, it is a primary object ofthe present invention to provide a new and improved programmablefree-flying toy aircraft.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a combinedpropulsion and programmable flight mechanism for a programmablefree-flight toy aircraft.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide aprogrammable free-flight toy aircraft utilizing a single,self-contained, rechargeable battery-powered electric motor andproviding a choice of several predetermined flight maneuvers.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a simple, yeteffective, programmable free-flight toy aircraft that includes meanswherein a predetermined delay time must elapse before the programmedmaneuvers commence.

It is also another object of the present invention to provide aprogrammable free-flight toy aircraft which includes a constantlyoperating flight programming mechanism that allows the toys flightcontrol surfaces to be actuated in a smooth, abruptless manner, andwhich includes means for minimizing the likelihood that the aircraftwill be flying a straight course when its power becomes exhausted.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a programmablefree-flight toy aircraft is provided which includes a toy airframeincluding a fuselage and wing and stabilizer surfaces and at least oneflight path control member associated with a stabilizer surface.

The toy has electric motor means mounted in the airframe and includes anelectric motor and a rechargeable battery arrangement electricallyconnectable to the electric motor for providing rotational power. Apropeller is rotatably mounted on the airframe, and the invention alsoincludes programmable flight path con-' trol means operatively coupledto the flight path control member for moving the control member inaccordance with a predetermined flight pattern. A drive mechanism isalso disposed in the airframe and operatively couples the electric motormeans to the propeller and to the programmable flight path control meansfor simultaneously transmitting the rotational power of the motor meansto the propeller and the control means.

The features of the present invention which are be- I BRIEF DESCRIPTIONOF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a free-flight type toy aircraft, partially broken away, showing the internally mounted power plantand programmable flight control mechanism, constructed in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective illustration of the propulsion andprogrammable flight control mechanism shown in FIG. 1; 7

FIGS. 3 and 4 are plan views showing theworking relationship between therudder actuating'cam follower and the pre-programmed rotating cam of themechanism seen in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4A is a plan view of a modified cam which may be substituted. forthe pre-programmed cam of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the control mechanism taken along line 55of FIG. 1; and.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the gear train arrangement of FIG. 5,taken along line 66.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings and moreparticularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a programmable free-flighttypetoy aircraft having an airframe 1 1 including a fuselage 13 withconventional wings 15 attached thereto, and conventional horizontal andvertical stabilizer surfaces 17 and 19, respectively. In this presentlypreferred embodiment, the vertical stabilizer is provided with a rudder21 pivotally attached along the trailing edge thereof by an integralhinge 23, the rudder 21 having an actuating mechanism 25 at its lowerextremity, which includes a hinge'plate 27 through which a generallyU-shaped control pin 29 is captured (see FIG. 2).

A conventional plastic or wood propeller 31 is rotatably mounted at theforward nose section 33 of the fuselage 13, the latter being providedwith a tail skid 35 and a landing gear, which is not shown for the sakeof clarity. Disposed within the fuselage 13 in the general.

area of the wings leading edge root 37, is a bulkhead 39. The bulkhead,in this embodiment, may be a molded integral part of the fuselage withan outer edge conforming to the fuselages outer skin 41. A nose coneinner housing 43 is attached to the bulkhead 39 and extends forwardtoward the propellers hub,45 and a propeller bearing element 47 disposedbetween the propeller hub and the forward nose section 33. I

Mounted by suitable means to the surface 51 of the bulkhead 39 is apowerful miniature electric motor 53. The motors output shaft 55 extendsforward through a hole in the bulkhead 39, and'at the end of which arelatively small diameter pinion gear 57 is fixedly attached. The pinionis meshed with the circumferential teeth 59 of a relatively largerdiameter coupling gear 61 that is fixedlymounted on a coupling shaft 63that extends through an appropriate hole in the bulkhead 39. Thecoupling gear 61 is maintained in spaced relation to the bulkhead by aspacer projection 65 which may be an integral part of the gear 61."Mounted on the forward side of the coupling gear 61 is a coupling member67 which is preferably fabricated from a'resilient material such arubber, forexample. In turn, the coupling member 67 is attached totherear end of a propeller shaft 69, the forwardend of which extendsthrough an appropriate opening in the nose cone housing 43 and thebearing element 47, and'is fixedly disposed in an axial bore in thepropellers hub 45.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 6, the rearwardly extending end 71 ofthe coupling shaft 63 is rotatively held in a journal bearing portion 73of a gear box 75. The shaft 63 extends through the bearing portion 73,and a worm pinion 77 is fixedly mounted adjacent the shafts end' 71. Theworm 77 meshes with a worm gear 79 fixedly mounted on a gear box shaft81. The axis of the shaft 81 is approximately orthogonal to the shaft63, and an end 83 of the shaft 81 is held in a first open cup bearingportion 85 of the rigid end 87 of the gear box 75. The opposite end 89of the shaft 81 is disposed in a second open cup bearing portion 91 ofthe gear boxs flexible end 93. The shaft 81 carries a worm 95 mountedbetween the worm gear 79 and the second cup bearing portion 91'.

The worm 95 meshes with a worm gear 97 which is fixedly mounted on atransverse shaft 99. An upper end 101 of the shaft 99 is held in a thirdopen cup bearing portion 103 of the gear b0x'75, and the shaft isrotatively held in position by a split bearing portion 105 of the gearbox 75, the shaft 99 and the gear 97 being maintained in a position bythe capturing of the gear 97 between the cup bearing 103 and the splitbearing 105.

A lower end portion 107 of the shaft 99 extends through an appropriatehole 109(FIG. 1) in a lower frame member l11, at the end of which shafta cam retainer member 113 is affixed. The member 113, like the otherworms and gears, may be molded from a synthetic material such as nylon,for example, and includes an upper bearing portion 115 and a lowerbearing stud portion 117. Also extending downwardly, but to one side ofthe portion 117, is a cam drive pin 119.

The cam retainer 113 is provided with a circular rim portion 121 towhich barbed ends 123 of four symmetrically positioned upstandingresilient arm portions 125 of a cam member 127, may engage. The cammember 127 is further provided with a central upstanding tubular bearingportion 129 and a pair of upstanding tab portions 131 extending radiallyin opposite directions from the tubular portion 129. The latter portionregisters over the depending stud portion117, and the tab portions 131cooperate with the cam drive pin 119 to cause the cam member 127 torotate with the rotation of the shaft 99 whenever the drive pin 1 19engages the tab portions 131.

The cam member 127 is preferably molded in a conventional process from asynthetic material such'as an a lower cup portion 133 from the upperedge of which horizontally extends a desired number of cam projections135 (A through D, for exampleleach helping to define a special camsurface 137.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2-5, a cam follower arm 141 of a control rod 143rides on the cam surface 137. The control rod 143 in this embodiment wasfabricated from No. 1 I MWG music wire and includes a forward bent endportion 145 passing through a framework hole 146, the end of whichportion is anchored by means of a finger 147 extending through a hole149 in an appropriate fuselage framework wall 151. The rod 143 extendsto the fuselage tail portion 153 (FIG. 1) where it terminates in anupstanding narrow U-shaped end portion 155 which engages the ruddercontrol pin 29. It will be noted from the detail of FIG. 2, that anupperend 157 of the pin 29 is bent back andis anchoredin the rudder material,while its other extremity 159 is captured in the control rods endportion 155.

As is illustrated in FIG. 1, the control rod 143 may be guided for atleast a portion of its length by a hollow tube 161, seen extendingbeyond the fuselage tail section 153. Alternatively, this guide maycomprise a bearing formed as an integral part of the fuselage. The rod143 is thus supported adjacent its end portions 145 and 155 in such amanner that the cam fol-lower arm 141 may swing in an are indicated byarrows 163 and 165 in FIG. 2. However, the bent end portion 145 of therod 143 is designed to bias the follower portion 141 in the directionindicated by the arrow 163, toward the cam surface 137. Thus, it can beseen that as the cam surface 137 changes in its contour, the camfollower arm 141 will follow these changes and cause the control rod 143to rotate accordingly. I v

Rotation of the control rod-143 causes its end portion 155 to swing inan are indicated by arrows 167. This in turn causes the rudder 21 topivot with respect to the acetal homopolymer, for example, and furtherincludes vertical stabilizer 19, as shown by arrows 169. This pivotingis either to the left or to the right depending upon the extent anddirection of the excursion of the cam follower portion 141 as it rideson the cam surface 137.

In operation, one of any number of cam members 127, each having adifferent cam surface contour, is snapped into place on the cam retainer113. The cam 127 is then manually rotated in the direction of an arrow171, as shown in FIG. 3, until a dot alignment mark 173 is alongside anappropriate mark (not shown) on the bottom of the fuselage. Thisprocedure assures that the craft's direction control mechanism is alwaysin a desired initial setting.

The rotation of the cam member 127 may cause one of the tab portions 131to contact the drive pin 119. This will, in turn, cause the shaft 99 andits worm gear 97 to rotate in a direction 100, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

In order to avoid undue wear and possible damage to the gearingarrangement housed in the gear box 75, the shaft supporting cup bearing91 is mounted in the flexible end 83 of the gear box. The flexibility ofthis end is assured by adeep notch 175 (see FIG. 5) in the adjoiningupper wall 177. This feature allows the worm 95 to move in the directionindicated by arrow 179 (FIG. 6) whenever the worm gear 97 is rotated inthe direction shown by the arrow 100 by manually rotating cam 127, andis easily slipped over the teeth ofthe worm gear 97 without damage toeither part. The dashed outline in FIG. 6, clearly illustrates themovement of the various elements described immediately above. It will benoted however, that the end 87 of the gear box 75, opposite the flexibleend 93, is rigid and, axial movement of the shaft 81 in a directionopposite that shown by the arrow 179, as will be caused by the gear 79being driven by the motor 53, will not allow the teeth of these meshedparts 96 and 97 to slip by each other.

Once the cam 127 is properly orientated for initial operation, theelectric motor 53 is activated. FIG. 1 shows that the motor 53 includesa first electric current input terminal 181 and a second terminal 183.The first terminal 181 is electrically connected through a conductor 185to a positive terminal 187 of a rechargeable battery arrangement 189comprising, in this embodiment, a pair of series connected, rechargeablenickelcadmium batteries 191 and 193.

The second motor terminal 183 is in turn connected through a resilientconductor 195 having a bent end portion 197. The conductors end portion197 is biased in a downward direction and is forced upward into contactwith the negative terminal 199 of the battery arrangement 189 by asliding movement of an on-off switch element 201. The batteryarrangement may be recharged from a conventional charging current source(not shown) by the insertion of a conventionally constructed chargingplug (not shown) in a hole 203 in the lower fuselage framework, so thatthe plugs tip contacts a positive contact arm 205, and its sleevecontacts an appropriately apertured plate 207 contacted by the bentportion 197 of the conductor 195 when the switch element 201 is in itsoff position.

When actuated, the motor will simultaneously drive 6 the propeller 31(through the propeller shaft 69 and the coupling gear arrangements 67and 59) and the cam member 127 (through the coupling shaft 63, thegearing arrangement in the gear box 75, and the shaft and cam retainer99 and 113).

In order to delay any maneuvering movements of the flight pathdetermined by actuating mechanism 25 until the craft is clear of theground or other obstructions, as noted previously, a predetermined timedelay is built into the system. This is accomplished by manuallyrotating the cam member 127, as noted above. This action causes one ofthe tab portions 131 to move from a position as indicated, for examplein FIG. 3, to one that has pushed the drive pin 119 to the positionshown in FIG. 4. In this position of cam 127, the cam follower arm 141is riding in a neutral notch 208 on cam 127 so that rudder 21 assumesthe straight-ahead" position shown in FIG. 4. Once actuated, the motorwill cause the pin 119 to move along a curved path shown by a dashedarrow 209, before coming into contact with the other tab portion 131. Atthis time, after an approximate delay in the present case of about 12seconds, the cam member 127 will be driven by the drive pin 119 in thedirection 171, and cam follower arm 141 will move out of neutral notch208 and onto the program built into cam 127 so that the control rod willrespond accordingly to move the crafts actuating mechanism 25.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, a modified cam 127A may be substituted for thecam 127 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The cam 127A may be identical .to thecam 127 except that a different program is provided thereby by replacingthe camprojections A-D with a cam surface 137A which not only includesthe neutral notch 208, but also includes notches 210, 212, 214, 216 and218. These additional notches are a desirable feature on cam 127 becausethe program defined thereby is a figure-8 pattern which includes twostraight courses of flight. If the toy airplane loses power on one ofthese straight courses, it could glide a long distance from itslaunching point. However, notches 210, 212, 214 and 218 cause theairplane to rapidly execute slight righthand and left-hand turns duringthese straight courses of flight. This assures that the airplane willquite likely be set for a turn when its power supply becomes exhaustedduring one of the straight-course portions of its programmed flight.

From the foregoing, it should be'evident that a very advantageous andnovel structure has been described which constitutes a significantadvancement of the art. It should also be understood that the materialsused in fabricating the invention as herein described are not criticaland any material generally considered suitable for a particular functionmay be used. Furthermore, any conventional process, such as vacuum andinjection molding, may be utilized to form the various structuresillustrated.

Although a limited number of embodiments of the invention have beendescribed in detail, it should be realized that modifications and otherembodiments incorporating the inventive features of the invention may beconstructed. Accordingly, it is intended that the foregoing disclosureand drawings shall be considered only as illustrations of the principlesof this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A programmable toy vehicle, comprising:

a toy vehicle frame including a stabilizer surface, and

at least one travel-path control member associated with said stabilizersurface;

tainer.

motor means mounted in said frame and including an output shaft forproviding rotational power;

programmable travel-path control means mounted in said frame andoperatively coupled to said control member for moving said controlmember in accordance with a predetermined travel pattern, wherein saidprogrammable travel-path control means also includes a control rod witha cam follower portion riding on the cam surface of said cam member,said control rod being engaged with said travel-path control memberwhereby said travel-path control member moves in accordance with therotational position of said cam member relative to said cam followerportion; and i drive means disposed in said frame and operativelycoupling said motor means to said programmable travel-path control meansfor transmitting said rotational power to said control means.

2. A programmable toy vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said drivenstructure of said cam member extends rectilinearly in the path of saiddrive pin whereby said drive pin may not contact said driven structurefor up to approximately 180 of rotation of said cam re- 3. Aprogrammable free-flight toy aircraft, comprising: v p

a toy airframe including a stabilizer surface, and at least one flightpath control member associated with a stabilizer surface; motor meansmounted in said airframe and including an output shaftfor providingrotational power; a propeller rotatably mounted on said airframe;

programmable flight path control means mounted in said airframe andopcratively coupled to said flight path control member for moving saidcontrol member in accordance with a predetermined flight pattern,wherein said programmable flight path control means also includes acontrol rod with acam follower portion riding on the cam surface of saidcam member, said control rod being engaged with said flight path controlmember whereby said flight path control member moves in accordance withthe rotational position of said cam member relative to said cam followerportion; and

drive means disposed in said airframe and operatively coupling saidmotor means to said propeller and to said programmable flight pathcontrol means for simultaneously transmitting said rotational power tosaid propeller and said control means.

4. A programmable free-flight toy vehicle according to claim 3, whereinsaid driven structure of said cam member extends rectilinearly in thepath of said drive pin whereby said drive pin may not contact saiddriven structure for up to approximately of rotation of said camretainer.

5. The programmable free-flight, toy according to claim 3, wherein saiddrive means includes a gear'train arrangement transmitting rotationalpower from said motor means output shaft to said cam retainer,'saidarrangement including slip means for allowing manual rotation of saidcam member and said cam retainer in a predetermined direction of camrotation to a desired initial programmed setting.

1. A programmable toy vehicle, comprising: a toy vehicle frame includinga stabilizer surface, and at least one travel-path control memberassociated with said stabilizer surface; motor means mounted in saidframe and including an output shaft for providing rotational power;programmable travel-path control means mounted in said frame andoperatively coupled to said control member for moving said controlmember in accordance with a predetermined travel pattern, wherein saidprogrammable travel-path control means also includes a control rod witha cam follower portion riding on the cam surface of said cam member,said control rod being engaged with said travel-path control memberwhereby said travel-path control member moves in accordance with therotational position of said cam member relative to said cam followerportion; and drive means disposed in said frame and operatively couplingsaid motor means to said programmable travel-path control means fortransmitting said rotational power to said control means.
 2. Aprogrammable toy vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said drivenstructure of said cam member extends rectilinearly in the path of saiddrive pin whereby said drive pin may not contact said driven structurefor up to approximately 180* of rotation of said cam retainer.
 3. Aprogrammable free-flight toy aircraft, comprising: a toy airframeincluding a stabilizer surface, and at least one flight path controlmember associated with a stabilizer surface; motor means mounted in saidairframe and including an output shaft for providing rotational power; apropeller rotatably mounted on said airframe; programmable flight pathcontrol means mounted in said airframe and operatively coupled to saidflight path control member for moving said control member in accordancewith a predetermined flight pattern, wherein said programmable flightpath control means also includes a control rod with a cam followerportion riding on the cam surface of said cam member, said control rodbeing engaged with said flight path control member whereby said flightpath control member moves in accordance with the rotational position ofsaid cam member relative to said cam follower portion; and drive meansdisposed in said airframe and operatively coupling said motor means tosaid propeller and to said programmable flight path control means forsimultaneously transmitting said rotational power to said propeller andsaid control means.
 4. A programmable free-flight toy vehicle accordingto claim 3, wherein said driven structure of said cam member extendsrectilinearly in the path Of said drive pin whereby said drive pin maynot contact said driven structure for up to approximately 180* ofrotation of said cam retainer.
 5. The programmable free-flight toyaccording to claim 3, wherein said drive means includes a gear trainarrangement transmitting rotational power from said motor means outputshaft to said cam retainer, said arrangement including slip means forallowing manual rotation of said cam member and said cam retainer in apredetermined direction of cam rotation to a desired initial programmedsetting.